


Are You Watching?

by Focal_Jinx



Category: Beelzebub (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2018-05-04 03:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5319569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Focal_Jinx/pseuds/Focal_Jinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about Oga's growing attachment to Furuichi. Coincidentally, also a story about Furuichi's growing irritation with Oga.</p><p>*On hiatus*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He’s five years old. He enjoys fighting and the feeling of strength he gets from defeating others. He’s made a few friends by defeating bullies, but they don’t stay long. His strength frightens them.

Misaki reassures him. Someday, he’ll make a good friend. She’s strong too. Stronger than him and she has friends. So he believes her and keeps trying. Keeps fighting for both a friend and to win. 

He’s nine now and still has no friends. Nobody sticks around. A few have tried to pretend they care. But in the end they all leave. He doesn’t believe Misaki anymore. She has a gang starting to grow around her but he’s still alone. He doesn’t trust anyone. 

But he’s still strong and decides he doesn’t need friends. As long as he has his strength, he’s fine. He can get by. So he starts pushing people away. He doesn’t want to deal with them anymore. Doesn’t want them staring and talking about him. 

He’s fine alone. Really.

But then, one day when he’s ten, somebody starts following him again. Apparently, he’s in his class now. And they live close together. He also looks weak. There’s no way he’ll stick around so Oga tries to push him away.

Unfortunately, this kid has other plans.

“Don’t stand behind me,” Oga warns. His classmate looks dumbfounded but chases after him anyway. Oga continues walking. After a few blocks the kid (he’s already forgotten his name) speaks up again.

“Um, Oga? Aren’t you going home?” 

They’ve entered a shopping district. Oga had expected him to split off before now but he kept following him like a puppy.

“Nope,” Oga keeps going.

“Oh.” He says nothing more and the two walk on in silence. Oga is a bit irritated now. He’s going to meet up with his sister. There’s no way the kid will fit in with that sort of crowd.

Once Oga gets to the right area he tries shaking the kid again. All that happens is he relearns the kid’s name (Furuichi, apparently) and discovers that he’s quite cheeky. A dangerous quality to have in such a shady area. Especially for someone so weak. But he’s not leaving so Oga just reminds Furuichi not to stand behind him.

He expected Furuichi to get cold feet after seeing his sister’s gang. Instead, Furuichi said he likes it. The little weirdo is enjoying himself. Even worse, Oga is starting to have fun hanging with him as well. This has to stop. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up only to be betrayed again. 

The party should be enough to scare him off. Furuichi certainly looks terrified of being surrounded by a bunch of fighting delinquents. It’s painfully obvious of how much he doesn’t belong in this world. Oga, on the other hand, is enjoying himself immensely. Even though his opponents are years older than him, they keep falling from a single hit. He can’t keep the shit-eating grin off his face. 

He glances at Furuichi once more. Yup, definitely terrified. This will be the end of their relationship for sure. But then Oga sees the delinquent sneaking up behind Furuichi. Suddenly, _he’s_ the one afraid. He swings his bag with added vigor. The delinquent goes down and Furuichi is safe.

“Idiot!” Oga reprimands. “This is why I told you not to stand behind me! It’s harder to protect you that way!” 

At the end of the battle, Oga is uneasy about being near Furuichi. For some reason, the kid had stuck around right to the very end. And after talking to Misaki about something, Furuichi no longer looked frightened. He smiles at Oga and says he should be getting home now, but he’ll see him at school tomorrow.

Oga doesn’t trust him for a second. Sure, he’ll see him at school, but there’s no way Furuichi will still want to be friends. Nobody else has stuck around. Why would someone as weak as him be any different?

So Oga keeps his distance. At school he stays in the classroom while everyone else goes out to play. Furuichi has other kids to play with. Normal kids. This is fine. This is what Oga expects.

What Oga does NOT expect is for Furuichi to call him out after school.

“I’ll be your opponent!” Furuichi insists. His eyes are determined. But he’s weak. Oga will be able to finish this quickly. Then he can go on as usual. Alone but strong.

One hit. Furuichi gets back up with a cheeky threat. Another hit. He gets up again, still determined. This will be the final hit, Oga thinks. He’s wrong. In fact, no matter how many times he hits him, Furuichi keeps getting back up. 

This has never happened before. Nobody has ever endured so many hits from Oga. Nobody has ever insisted this strongly on being his friend. Oga tells Furuichi this. He punches Furuichi again, certain that despite all this, Furuichi won’t remain behind him.

And he’s right.

Furuichi gets up one last time.

“Who said anything about standing behind you?” he asks fiercely. “I’ll stand right next to you!”

A smile creeps onto Oga’s face. Furuichi is too strong for him. He can’t deny him anymore. 

“But, I’m weak though,” Furuichi continues. “So, for now, thanks for taking care of me.”

This kid is ridiculous. How can he say he’s weak when he’s managed to do what no one else has? He’s gotten past the walls Oga put up to push people away. What’s more, he’s made Oga care about someone. 

For the longest time, Oga did his best to avoid the attention of others (unless they were fighting). Now he found someone he wants to be with. In fact, Oga starts behaving more open and confident. Just to make sure his friend is still paying attention to him.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble happens shortly after Oga and Furuichi first become friends. Friendship is so new to Oga. He's anxious about messing it up.
> 
> This story is probably gonna be a bunch of drabbles that can stand alone but all follow the same theme (Oga getting attached to Furuichi and annoying him). So expect time skips in the future.
> 
> ###### 

Oga rang the doorbell and shifted the straps of his backpack. After a few moments he heard some scuffling from within the house. Someone was yelling. Someone replied. Then there were footsteps, hurried and growing louder. At last, the front door was yanked open and the smiling face of his best (and only) friend peered out.

“Oga!” Furuichi stepped aside to allow entry into the house. “You’re finally here!”

“Yo.” Although Oga kept a calm demeanor, his insides were as jittery as Furuichi looked. However, whereas Furuichi positively radiated joyous excitement, Oga felt sick with anxiety. It was the first time he’d ever been to Furuichi’s house. Not only that, but he was staying over for the night because his parents were out of town with Misaki for some reason Oga couldn’t remember. 

His brain had frozen the moment his mother told him that she had arranged for him to stay with Furuichi. Misaki had taken great pleasure in teasing him over this. His whole family knew he had never stayed over at a friend’s place before and while his sister’s teasing was out of happiness for him, her words had carved the trepidation in his gut deeper.

_Don’t get into too much mischief! This is only your first sleepover after all._

_I have some tips in case you wet the bed._

_Be sure to make a good impression on his parents or they’ll never let you hang out again!_

Furuichi had been over to Oga’s house plenty of times. He was polite, good at school, and apparently a good influence on Oga. There was no way the same could be said about Oga, but for the sake of his friendship he had to try.

After removing his shoes by the front door, Oga allowed Furuichi to lead him towards the stairs. Whatever Furuichi was chatting about was lost on Oga who was concentrating on keeping his face in a pleasant expression. He soon stopped trying when Furuichi peered back, snorted, and booped him on the nose.

“What’s with your face?” he teased.

“Your breath stinks,” Oga retorted before remembering he was trying to be nice and polite. A second later, and the moment Oga had truly been dreading reared its ugly head. 

“You must be Oga Tatsumi!” said a female voice out of nowhere. The owner of that voice was Furuichi’s mom, a smiling woman who greatly resembled her son (or was it the other way around?). Behind her was a man who was also smiling. Most likely Furuichi’s dad. The pleasant parents with their pleasant smiles had Oga sweating nervously. 

“Yes, that is I!” Oga replied stiffly. He bowed deeply before standing as straight as possible. “Very pleased to meet you I am!”

“Well, we’re very pleased to have you.” If Furuichi’s mom was put off by Oga’s rigid behaviour she didn’t show it.

“Just make yourself at home.” Furuichi’s father on the other hand seemed slightly amused. Furuichi himself was looking at Oga with eyebrows raised. 

“I was just taking Yoda here up to my room to drop his stuff off,” he deadpanned. 

“Don’t let us hold you up then,” Furuichi Mom finally let amusement settle on her face. “I’ll send Honoka up with some tea right away. You can hang out until dinner which should be ready in about three hours.”

“Thanks, Mom!” 

“Yes, thank you very much!” Another stiff bow, and Oga was following his friend up the stairs. He felt very pleased with himself. His first meeting with the rents and they actually seemed to like him. Hopefully, they would continue to like him. 

Furuichi opened his bedroom door and entered silently. He didn’t remain quiet for long though. The second Oga crossed through the doorframe he whirled around with crossed arms.

“Okay, seriously,” Furuichi’s face struggled to appear stoic. The sparkle in his eyes and tug at his lips betrayed his inner mirth. “What is up with you today? You’re acting weird, and for you, that’s saying something.”

Oga set his backpack down on the floor. He smirked thoughtfully even though he had no clue what to say. This was bordering on a touchy-feely conversation about the daily judgment Oga dealt with. With Furuichi as his friend it didn’t really bother him anymore, but he couldn’t just say that. He couldn’t admit he was worried Furuichi’s parents would view him as delinquent scum which would lead to the downfall of their friendship. His pride wouldn’t allow for such vulnerabilities, so he settled for nonsense in hopes that Furuichi was dumb enough to buy it. 

“Idiot, Furuichi,” he waggled his finger in a haughty manner. Furuichi looked as though he wanted to bite it. “Haven’t you ever heard of the First Meet Guidelines?”

“… The what?” Obviously, he hadn’t.

“First Meet Guidelines! The Guidelines!” It was nice to see Furuichi look so dumbfounded even though Oga himself was floundering. “Everybody knows them! You can’t just NOT do it. Society has standards you know. This isn’t a jungle! Manliness is order!”

“Since when did you care about order?” Furuichi challenged. “Or standards, for that matter.”

“Since when did you care about matters?”

“Since when did you care enough to _have_ matters?”

“Since when did matters even care?”

“Who the hell is matters?”

“Excuse me.” A tea carrying Honoka cleared her throat at the pair arguing themselves into malarkey. “I brought the tea…”

“Oh,” Furuichi had the decency to look embarrassed about the conflict. Oga was just happy he didn’t have to explain himself anymore. “Thanks, Honoka. Just set it on the table.”

“Sure.” Furuichi Sister finished her task quickly, as if staying too long would infect her with weirdness. She gave the pair a skeptical stare before departing. 

He should be worried about this. If Furuichi Sister was having doubts about Oga, then it shouldn’t be long before the Furuichi Parents were also uneasy. Instead of rising, however, his anxiety sank. It took him a moment to figure out why.

That look. That look of ‘I can’t believe you two idiots’ Honoka so boldly wore; he had seen it before on his own sister. Sure, it was judgmental, but it was the type of judgmental that came from someone whose intent was to tease, not isolate. It made Oga relax.

“So are you going to continue being weird or are we playing video games?” Furuichi held up two game controllers. Oga immediately snatched one. 

“Video games.”

The rest of the night went by in a flash. With Furuichi beside him, Oga felt comfortable enough to be himself. Furuichi Family accepted him easily enough. (Probably because Furuichi was a weirdo himself so any awkwardness Oga displayed they were already used to.) 

He wasn’t known for being polite or good in school, but Furuichi Family didn’t seem to mind. As long as he was Furuichi’s friend, he was accepted. Oga himself found that as long as Furuichi continued to be his friend, he didn’t mind what others thought of him anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set when Oga and Furuichi are in 6th grade

It was no secret that Furuichi admired Oga’s strength. Burying people in walls, sending them flying, a single punch felling a thug twice your size; no matter how much he disliked violence, Oga’s feats could still bring out the cheerleader in Furuichi.

Like right now, for instance. On their way to the park, a group of middle schoolers with bad hygiene encircled the two friends with smug grins. Oga had beat up the ringleader last week. Now he had returned to get revenge; bringing along backup and the delusion of victory. 

Furuichi managed to weasel himself away when the fighting started. He debated hiding behind a nearby tree but reconsidered when he spotted an ice cream vendor. A frozen treat would not be unwelcome on a hot day like this one. He would buy a double popsicle and split it with Oga. Partially because they were friends, but mostly because Oga would mooch off of him anyway. 

The popsicle was cheap and better yet, when Furuichi turned around after paying, he was just in time to see Oga finish off the last of the middle schoolers. Even from a distance, Oga’s jump kick into a burying punch was brilliant to watch. 

Furuichi’s grin was big enough to match Oga’s arrogant smirk. The delinquent stood in the center of the carnage, head thrown back, and laughed. This display of disgusting self-satisfaction was short lived, however. Walking back over, Furuichi could see Oga’s smirk fade into uncharacteristic doubt. 

Like a dog searching for his bone, Oga swivelled around. Furuichi took the opportunity to sneak up behind him and tap his shoulder.

“Furuichi!” Oga exclaimed. His surprised jump was entertaining. “Where the heck were you?” One half of a popsicle was held up in reply. Oga took it, but continued to sulk.

“You missed my epic finale,” he pouted.

“No I didn’t!” Furuichi protested. “The way you flew into the mullet guy and then burying the last three at the same time; that was cool!” 

Reassured, Oga bit into his treat with a hum. Furuichi continued talking. He always talked a lot and Oga didn’t bother listening to everything (especially when the content was about girls). Getting ignored was a sure-fire way to tick Furuichi off. His annoyed expression was hilarious. 

Another tap on his shoulder. Oga looked over, expecting Furuichi to glare at him for missing an important part of his story. What he got instead was the brightest smile he had ever seen.

“It’s going to be hot again tomorrow so let’s hit the beach! What d’yah say?”

Oga didn’t say anything. Furuichi’s pure joy at the prospect of hanging out with Oga again had the delinquent so overwhelmed that he resorted to a more comfortable form of communication. He punched Furuichi in the face.

“What the hell?!??” Furuichi spluttered from the ground, popsicle laying broken beside him.

“Mosquito,” Oga offered as explanation. A faint blush had yet to recede from his face so he made sure not to look his outraged friend in the face.

“Mosquito my ass!” Furuichi grumbled hotly. While offended by the impromptu punch, he accepted that Oga wasn’t going to elaborate anymore. Besides, Furuichi still wanted to go to the beach with him so he let the argument go.

“So was that a yes or a no on the beach?” he asked instead, albeit still miffed. Oga appeared unconcerned except for the fact that he wouldn’t look Furuichi in the eye. _Good._ Furuichi thought with savage satisfaction. _Let him be guilty._

“Sure, I got time,” Oga yawned. Why couldn’t he have just said yes in the first place? Well, it was all Furuichi’s fault for being such a happy idiot. Emotions and Oga didn’t mix so if Furuichi was going to be so expressive with his then he would have to deal with the consequences. That made sense, right? 

Plans made, Furuichi instigated the next order of business. With Oga looking away he had a chance at stealing the rest of delinquent’s popsicle. It was, after all, Oga’s fault Furuichi had lost his own half. Furuichi was also the one who paid, so he deserved it. Of course, Oga disagreed. Their squabble only ended when Oga stuffed the remaining popsicle into his mouth. The resulting brain freeze kept Furuichi from complaining further.


	4. Chapter 4

“I don’t know why you bother getting involved in all those fights,” Furuichi held his hand out to a beaten Miki. Embarrassed over being knocked down so easily, Miki slapped the hand away and stood up by himself.

“I don’t know why you bother hanging around at all if all you do is hide!” he shot back. Furuichi tried to look offended, but it was hard to do when the person angry at you is short, bruised, and covered in dirt. He absentmindedly started to brush off the dirt (a habit picked up from looking out for his little sister), but his hand was slapped away again.

“It can’t be helped,” Furuichi sighed, as if burdened with a great wisdom.

“And why is that?” Miki raised his eyebrows skeptically.

“Heh, isn’t it obvious?” Fingering waggling, Furuichi gazed over at Oga who was still bashing the thugs that had surrounded them earlier. “It’s because I’m weak. I’d be killed in an instant so I have no choice but to hide.”

“That’s what I was saying!” Miki cried out, exasperated. “You’re super weak and you have no intentions of getting stronger, so why do you hang out with Oga at all?”

“Right back at you!” Furuichi snapped. “You’re not going to get any stronger just by hanging out with Oga! All you’ve managed to accomplish so far is running recklessly into fights and getting beat up! Why do _you_ hang out with that Mad Dog?”

“Just _who_ exactly is a Mad Dog?” Oga’s harsh voice suddenly cut in.

“You are.” Furuichi replied without skipping a beat. “Good boy, beating all those thugs!” 

The comments earned Furuichi a punch, but Oga still demanded a ‘treat’ for being a ‘good dog’. Miki tagged along as well, although unlike Oga, he paid for his own croquet. His argument with Furuichi had been dropped, but he still wondered how someone like Oga ended up friends with the non-violent Furuichi. 

 

~~Beelzebub~~

 

“Furuichi, you idiot!”

The next day at school, Oga stormed up to Furuichi during break and sent him flying with a punch. Miki winced as Furuichi, who he had been pleasantly chatting with in the hallway, hit the ground with a resounding _smack_!

“Oga! What the actual hell??!!?” Furuichi yelled back, incensed. After hanging out with the two for some time, Miki noted that Furuichi accepted being smacked around by Oga so long as he earned the smack. This attack out of nowhere, therefore, got Furuichi as angry as Oga looked.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!?” Oga demanded.

“No! At least tell people what they’ve done before punching them into New Year!” Furuichi scolded hotly.

“What’s going on? What happened?” Miki asked, genuinely curious. Perhaps this would grant him insight into why Oga and Furuichi started hanging out.

“Your stupid nickname is stuck on me now!” Oga growled. “Everywhere I go it’s just Mad Dog, Mad Dog, Mad Dog!”

Furuichi snorted before quickly looking serious. “I don’t see how that’s a problem,” he shrugged. “Everyone already knows you’re a violent delinquent. One little nickname won’t change anything.”

“Furuichi’s right.” Miki piped up. “The nickname is just a reflection of your reputation.”

“That’s the point!” Oga gesticulated furiously. “It’s more than just a nickname. It’s a reflection of my great character! There’s nothing great about being a Mad Dog! Who’s going to take me seriously with a moniker like that?!”

“Wait a minute,” Furuichi held up his hand. “ _That’s_ what you’re so angry about? You want a different nickname?”

“A _better_ nickname!” Oga corrected.

Furuichi muttered something akin to ‘I don’t have time for this nonsense’ just as the school bell rung. The three of them returned to class, both Miki and Furuichi suggesting ridiculous new nicknames for Oga as they went. 

“Punch and Lunch.”

“The Croquet Rocket.”

“Hairy Young Thug”

“Squeak and Leak”

“ _Shut up!_ ” 

“The Angry Shit-stain.”

“ _Enough!_ ”

“Killer Shoe Dirt”

“ _You’re both dead._ ”

 

~~Beelzebub~~

 

It was stupid! _He_ was stupid! Why couldn’t he just accept things as they were? Now Miki’s curiosity has landed Furuichi in big trouble and he couldn’t do anything except run to Oga for help. This was all his fault. If only Miki had kept his mouth shut.

It just bothered him, okay? Miki wanted nothing more than to be able to fight next to Oga and watch his back. He worked hard every day to earn that position, but his efforts seemed to be getting him nowhere. 

Then there was Furuichi. He was weak and cowardly and _still_ somehow managed to attract Oga’s attention. Furuichi said he was a friend and Oga claimed Furuichi was his lackey. But behind their mutual teasing and complaints, there was a level of trust Miki envied. How was Furuichi able to have this without even trying? It wasn’t fair!

At least, that’s what Miki used to think. He had called Furuichi out after school to confront him on the matter. The conversation hadn’t gotten far before some grimy high schoolers showed up. 

_Where’s the Mad Dog?_ They wanted to know. _We owe him a few beatings!_

_Not here._ Furuichi avoided their eyes. 

Miki on the other hand stared down the delinquents. _If it’s Oga you want, then you’ll have to go through me first!_

The delinquents had laughed and sneered at this proclamation while Furuichi grimaced and glanced at Miki with concern. It was obvious Miki couldn’t take them, but any chance to back Oga up was irresistible. 

_Look, I’m friends with Oga. Why don’t I just go get him instead?_ Furuichi had tried to worm them out of the situation, but the delinquents were having none of it.

_Oh, you’ll bring Oga running,_ they started to close in, _as a hostage, that is!_

The situation was dangerous, but like an idiot Miki had tried to use it for his own gain.

_Of course! Because you and Oga are such tight pals, right Furuichi?_ Miki smiled with confidence.

_Well, I wouldn’t say tight exactly…_ Furuichi tried to say, but Miki had cut him off.

_Sure! You’re Oga’s right hand man! Tell these guys how you and Oga became partners!_ Now Miki was sure he’d finally get an answer to the question that nagged at him. He would finally get an explanation to Furuichi’s relationship with Oga. 

_Backstory don’t matter none._ Scoffed a high schooler before landing a punch that knocked Furuichi out. _Just so long as you’re good Mad Dog bait._

_Wait! This isn’t-!_ Plan backfiring, Miki had tried to salvage the situation. He took one step towards his unconscious friend being held by Mullet High Schooler before Mohawk High School knocked him down. Miki had sat on the ground, dazed by the blow, and watched as the high schoolers took Furuichi away.

_Tell Mad Dog if he wants his partner back, then he better come to Warehouse Seven by the shopping district!_ That was all Miki heard before he dashed off to find Oga.

 

Warehouse Seven was an abandoned storage unit and a common hangout for hooligans. Oga would be able to find it easily. Miki knew where it was too, but his actions had caused enough trouble. If he tried to rescue Furuichi by himself… well, he just wasn’t strong enough for that. As much as it pained him to admit it, Miki needed Oga’s help. 

Rather, he needed Oga to clean up his mess. Miki could do nothing but stand around and watch. Panting heavily, Miki made it to Oga’s house. He rang the doorbell multiple times in a flurry until an angry Misaki answered the door.

“Enough already!” She yelled. “What d’ya want?!?”

“Oga… need…” Miki gasped.

“Oh, it’s Miki.” Misaki calmed considerably and turned towards inside the house. “Hey! Tatsumi! You friend is here! Come and meet him before he faints from exhaustion you brat!”

Then to Miki:

“He’ll just be a sec.”

Misaki had disappeared by the time Oga trampled down to the door. He took one look at Miki’s sweaty and frantic face and asked, “Where?”

“Warehouse… Seven!” Miki wheezed out. Oga wasted no time. He shouldered past Miki and dashed towards the shopping district. Miki took a few more desperate breaths before following behind, albeit at a much slower and huffing pace.

He wanted to tell Oga to slow down so they could arrive together, but Furuichi didn’t deserve to be kept waiting because of Miki’s idolization. Maybe that’s where the difference was. Furuichi and Oga didn’t idolize each other, but then what brought them together?

Miki ended up falling behind by a considerable amount. By the time he staggered to Warehouse Seven, Oga was already in the middle of a battle. Furuichi was awake, but bound and tied to a chair. All Miki could do was try to catch his breath and keep his shaking legs from sinking to the floor. He bent over, hands on his knees, until a feral cry from Oga shocked him and he brought his head up in a rush.

The regular devil-like grin was absent from Oga’s face. In its place was rage. Pure rage. The anger radiating from him caused a shiver to run down Miki’s spine. What was going on? Why was Oga like this? Miki knew Oga could be terrifying, but this was the first time he had ever experienced that terror.

The fight was short lived. The high schoolers lay on the floor, cursing Oga with explicit hate. Oga ignored them to untie Furuichi. Unlike Miki, Furuichi seemed unimpressed with Oga’s show. He tutted as he stretched his freed arms.

“That was a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“They had it coming.” Oga growled. 

“Are you all… okay?” Miki panted. The pair turned towards him with surprise. Apparently, they hadn’t realized Miki was there. 

“I’m fine!” Furuichi smiled. “How about you though? That’s a nasty bruise they gave you.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Miki shrugged dismissively. He interrupted before Furuichi could respond with a “That’s good!” He couldn’t take this concern when it was his fault Furuichi got captured. 

“Look, Furuichi, about what happened…” Miki forced himself to look his friend in the face. “I’m really sorry! I shouldn’t have-“

“Forget about it.” Furuichi grimaced. “They would have kidnapped me anyway. Besides, you were only trying to help.”

_Yeah, help myself._ Miki thought glumly. 

“I’m hungry.” Oga announced, sick of the conversation. “Let’s go get croquets.”

“Yeah, sure, but I’m not paying for yours again.” Furuichi agreed. “Come on, Miki!”

 

Later, after Furuichi had bought everyone croquets, Miki couldn’t resist his question any long.

“If you don’t like fights, then why do you hang out with a Mad Dog?” He asked in what he hoped was a polite voice. Furuichi chewed thoughtfully before replying.

“Because, I know I _say_ Oga’s a Mad Dog, but he’s really more of a rabbit, you know?”

“No, I don’t know. The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Oga snapped. Miki was pretty sure he understood. The possibility of losing Furuichi had obviously frightened Oga, if his uncharacteristic rage was anything to go by. The two may be opposites in terms of disposition, but they were the same when it came to friendship. Their trust came from the fact that neither would leave the other to be alone. 

“What are _you_ smiling at?” Oga glared at Miki.

“Just thinking.” He responded mischievously. “The Raging Rabbit has a nice ring to it, no?”


	5. Chapter 5

After the shock of waking up to find that the demon wet nurse and demon baby were in fact _not_ a dream (and the literal shock of the hungry baby’s cry), Oga found himself burdened with unfathomable worry.

He had no idea what to do. He didn’t want to raise a stupid demon king. Normally, Oga would use his fists to get out of a sticky situation, but it was clear that wasn’t an option this time. Hilda confirmed that yesterday when she had attempted to murder him. She was too strong. A true demon after all.

Without any other ideas (not that he tried to think of others) he resorted to his usual last resort: calling Furuichi.

The last time he had seen his friend was yesterday at the riverside when they were struggling (and failing) to flee from the murderous Hilda. Then Oga had saved the baby from a falling steel tower and blacked out. Now Hilda was away gathering supplies for her master, and the baby was napping on his bed. It was the perfect time to call.

Furuichi picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” he said.

“Hey, Furuichi, listen,” Oga replied.

“Oga! You’re alive! Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m fine, but never mind that.” Oga started pacing his room. “Listen, I need your help.”

“ _You_ need _my_ help?” Furuichi was suddenly furious. He went on a rant about his damaged house and how he had almost died.

“…better be paying for all the repairs, because let me tell you-!”

“Will you just shut up for a second?!?” Oga snapped. “I don’t have a lot of time here.”

“Oh, _that’s_ rich!” Furuichi scoffed. “I go out of my way to make time for you yesterday despite having a date and look what happens! I nearly- wait a second… _My Date!_ I missed my date because of you! Oga, you had better-!”

Not willing to listen to another diatribe, Oga hung up. He’d have to give Furuichi time to cool off before approaching him again. In the meantime… video games. Picking up a controller, Oga felt a small wave of pleasure amongst all his anxiety. So he had caused Furuichi to miss a date. So what? That meant that Furuichi wouldn’t get a girlfriend and would have more time for him and his troubles which, looking back at the snoozing bug zapper, were very big troubles indeed. 

Hilda returned just in time to prevent the baby from crying of hunger again. Oga ignored them and whittled away the day playing games until dinnertime. Stomach growling, he got up and opened his bedroom door.

“Where are you going?” Hilda asked immediately.

“Downstairs. It’s dinnertime.”

“Will your family be there?”

“Uh, yeah?”

The wet nurse smiled thinly with a glint in her eye. “Perfect.” She said, and got up with the baby to make for the staircase.

“Wait a minute! Where do you think _you’re_ going?”

“To introduce the master and myself, of course.”

“Intro… WHAT!?!”

No matter his protests, Hilda could not be stopped from walking downstairs and kneeling before his family. The following scene would haunt and embarrass Oga for the rest of his life. Worse yet, Hilda’s little introduction had successfully melded her into his family and home. The enemy had taken over home base. Escape was becoming less and less likely. Hopefully, Furuichi would be able to offer him a solution tomorrow at school.

The sleeping arrangements that night were as thus: Hilda slept with his older sister while Beel shared his bed. At first, Oga wondered why the demon nurse tolerated being separated from her master at night, but the answer to that was quickly and painfully discovered. Night crying, and the electric shocks that came with it, left Oga cursing the fifteen meter limit that bonded him to the baby.

The next morning, he barely listened to the instructions Hilda gave before he left for school. He was going to be late but couldn’t care less. At least Beel was finally asleep and quiet. 

“Little shit,” Oga yawned while rubbing the bags under his eyes. “You got some nerve sleeping so peacefully after keeping me up all night.”

His train of thought was simplified that day. Find Furuichi. Solve demon problem. Find Furuichi. Roof? Less thugs there… Go to roof. Talk to Furuichi. Solve demon problem. Loud. Hallway loud. Keep Beel asleep. Rattle. Hit. Hit. Hit.

“What’d you do if Beel woke up?” Oga growled, but he barely registered the bruised bodies he had smacked around. Furuichi was on the school roof just like he predicted. At the sight of him, Oga woke up a little more.

Like a good lackey, Furuichi played his part and listened to Oga’s tale about last night’s disaster. Well, for the most part. He was still mad about his house, but Oga had bigger things to worry about; such as the danger of instant death if Beel went more than fifteen meters away from him.

“Ngyyaaaah!!”

Beel’s sudden cry brought Oga to full alertness. The little bugger had wandered off and was now in the hands of some punks trying to pick a fight. If he wasn’t such a cool, popular, and respectable young man he would have shit himself.

Ignoring the delinquents, Oga watched the infant wriggle and squirm. _How many meters is that?_ Oga thought as his primary concern. _What should I do? Will punching work?_

While debating whether or not lashing out would send Beel flying further away from him, Oga yelled at the captors to stay still. They were confused, but followed the command anyway. Good. Now all he needed to do was…

“ _Wait_!”

Great. More punks were showing up. Furuichi and Beel’s captors seemed nervous about their arrivals. Oga had no idea who they were. Some second year bigshots or something. They shouldn’t be too much of a problem, but now he had to worry about Furuichi getting mixed up in this bullshit. Most people at school knew Furuichi wasn’t a fighter and left him alone. Nevertheless, there were enough times Furuichi got involved in a fight that Oga always kept his friend’s safety at the back of his mind.

Speaking of safety, his own was very much in jeopardy right now. He needed to get Beel back. _Now_. 

With a quick step forward, Oga connected his fist with the jaw of the captor holding onto Beel.

“Welcome home!” Oga yelled.

“I’m home!” the captor replied as he kissed the floor.

Okay. Good. Beel was clinging onto his arm now. Fifteen meter crisis averted. As an extra precaution, to prevent anything like this happening again, Oga threatened to stomp the baby flat if he ever went off on his own again. He wasn’t entirely sure if the message was received because the baby’s eyes lit up with joy at the threat. Beel might wander off again just to make good on that threat. 

“We’re going home.” Oga decided. He’d had enough of this garbage for one day. Furuichi hadn’t even offered a solution to this whole demon dilemma. All he did was ask questions about living with Hilda. True, talking about stupid things with Furuichi had eased some of Oga’s anxiety, but it just wasn’t worth dealing with-

“Fight! Fight us!”

Oh, right. The second years or whatnot were still here. Oga took care of the first two in one blow. For the last two… something weird happened. The air crackled, as if Beel had just been crying, but Oga did not feel any shocks. His opponents went down fast and looked slightly charred. 

Oh well. Home time.

Furuichi would be fine. There were no more delinquents present that would beat on him in Oga’s absence. Also, he could hand Beel back over to Hilda and have her take care of him. 

“Oga, wait!” Furuichi ran to catch up with him. “School’s not over yet.”

“I don’t care.” Oga grumbled. “I’m too tired to go through all that again.”

“You wouldn’t have to go through that at all if you just watched him properly.”

“Shut up.”

They made it to the front gate without any more problems. Beel was babbling contently on Oga’s back. In a while he would get hungry again, but Oga would make it home before that. Hopefully. He had been wrong about Beel’s hunger level before. 

“I guess I’ll see you later.” Furuichi waved and started to head back to the school building, but in a split-second decision, Oga grabbed the back of his shirt and started dragging Furuichi with him. 

“Oga! What are you-? I need to get to class!”

“You can go later. We got bigger things to deal with.”

“Like what? Look, if my parents find out I skipped school I’ll get in trouble!”

“Mhmmm…”

To Furuichi’s credit, he made a show of attempting to return to school, but eventually gave up and followed Oga on his own. Hilda was waiting for them when they got to Oga’s house. Beel was dumped in her arms while the two started up a fighting game on the TV. They didn’t discuss anything about demons, but Oga found the company relaxing; even if it was forced. 

“There’s gonna be a ruckus at school now.” Furuichi said offhandedly while his character landed a finishing blow on Oga’s.

“Dammit! Rematch! Why’s that?”

This time Furuichi was struggling as Oga button slammed his controller with extra vigor. “You just beat the second year bosses, remember?”

“Oh, is that who they were?”

“…you’re unbelievable.”

“More like undefeatable!” Oga grinned. His character roundhouse kicked Furuichi’s into victory. He gave a whoop and punched Furuichi on the arm. Neither heard the front door open.

“Tatsumi? Furuichi?” Oga’s mother put her hands on her hips. “What are you boys doing here instead of school?”


	6. Chapter 6

“Furuichi…” said Oga’s ominous voice. “May I have a word with you…?”

That was when Furuichi knew he had made it out of the frying pan and into the fire. Limp bodies drifted slowly in the water. Beel sniffed away tears on Oga’s shoulder. Maybe Furuichi should have let Takashima and his boys beat him up after all. Whatever pain they would have dished out couldn’t have been worse than Mad Dog Oga, newly equipped with an electrical demon baby. 

He also had a more immediate problem to deal with. A whole crowd of people had just witnessed the pool light up in an electrical shock. Hopefully, they would assume the cause was a Taser or something, but it still left Furuichi and Oga in the heat of things. They had to get out of here as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, Oga didn’t seem to realize the potential trouble they were in. He snatched the inner tube back and Furuichi tumbled into the water.

“Oga! Wait! We need to –agh!”

Furuichi made sure to swim a few feet away from Oga before resurfacing. Already, the lifeguard and a few volunteers were rescuing the unconscious thugs from drowning. The rest of the crowd muttered darkly amongst themselves. A sharp popping sound alerted Furuichi to the fact that Oga was wading towards him, fingers cracking. Yeah, Oga wanted a ‘word’ with him, but he always left the talking to his fists. Oh well. If Oga was in no mood to listen to Furuichi explain, then that left one other alternative. 

Drawing upon his years of experience, Furuichi ran for his life.

Dodging through the crowd was easy and had the extra advantage of slowing down his rampaging friend. He briefly spotted Nene and Tanimura sitting at a new table, nonchalantly eating yakisoba. Why did Takashima have to show up again? If Furuichi couldn’t have his resort, then sitting with two beautiful ladies at the poolside was the next best thing. Now even that was ruined. 

“Furuichi! Get your ass back here!”

Of course, if he didn’t hurry, the next thing to be ruined would be his face. Somehow, he seemed to have managed to lose Oga in the crowd. No time to put on shoes, though. Furuichi kept up his pace even has his bare feet hit the hot pavement outside of the pool’s gate. Don’t slow down, just make it home and this nightmare of a day would be over. 

By the time he reached his house, Furuichi’s feet had been numbed from the pain. Running barefoot through the streets in swim trunks had garnered a few odd looks, but anything was better then-

“There you are, Furuichi.”

Damn.

“Oga! How’d you get here so quickly?”

“Dabuh dah!” Beel cried out, and apparently that was explanation enough.

 

~~Beelzebub~~

 

Somehow, running through the hot city streets to Furuichi’s house had managed to cool Oga’s temper a little bit. He no longer wanted to maim Furuichi and was willing to settle for roughing him up instead. Punch, punch, punch. Done. Finally satisfied, Oga grabbed his friend by the ear and dragged him inside. 

“It’s hot,” Oga said. “Go get me a cold drink.”

“Dah! Dabuh dah!” Beel waved a fist, demanding a drink as well. Both teens were disturbed to realize they understood what the baby wanted. Despite all the attempts to dump Beel on someone else, the baby was integrating quite smoothly into their lives. 

Too tired to complain, Furuichi prepared two glasses of lemonade. He figured Oga and Beel could just share. Were babies allowed to drink lemonade anyway? Well, it wasn’t like Beel was a regular infant, so whatever, it should be fine.

Unfortunately, Oga downed the entire glass as soon as Furuichi set it down in front of him. Distraught that he didn’t get any, Beel threw another tantrum that shocked Furuichi into offering up his own glass to the fussy demon. 

“Idiot Furuichi,” a charred Oga coughed. “Why didn’t you just give it to him in the first place?”

“Shut up,” Furuichi wheezed back. “You’re his parent. You should have been the one to share.”

“Real men don’t share their stuff. They protect it with pride.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a moocher like you.”

“Bitch.”

“Asshole.”

They wallowed in the air conditioned living room, sweaty skin sticking to the couch. Today had been exhausting. Getting kidnapped from a resort, the shock of missing out on going to a resort, the crowded poolside, the Takashima incident… All of this could have been avoided if demons weren’t a part of their lives. 

“Dammit,” Oga groaned. “We really need to get rid of him.” He glared at Beel who had finished his lemonade and was now sprawled out on Oga’s lap, fast asleep.

“Yeah, but how though?” Furuichi asked. “You’ve already tried dumping him three times and each one was a failure.”

“There’s still one more candidate left,” Oga affirmed.

“Tojo?”

“Tojo.”

“Hmm. But we haven’t seen him around at all. What’ll you do if it doesn’t work?”

“It’ll work.”

“How can you be so sure?” 

“It’ll work,” Oga repeated. Furuichi didn’t say anything more. Instead, he rested his head in his hand and closed his eyes frowning. Although he had assured otherwise, Oga really had no clue on how to get Beel attached to this Tojo character. What if Tojo just never showed up again? Beel couldn’t cling to someone who wasn’t there. What if Tojo _did_ show up, but they failed to transfer Beel on to him? Oga had no other plans besides this one. Damn Furuichi for making him worry about failing!

Today sucked, but at least Furuichi was there to suffer with him. It had been terribly upsetting to find out Furuichi and his family had left for vacation. Oga didn’t appreciate being left behind. A resort trip would have been nice, but looking at Furuichi’s sulking face beside him was enough to make Oga happy. Even if his friend _had_ dragged him into the pool to be electrocuted. 

Thinking back though… hadn’t there been other people who got shocked in the pool? Oga had been too pissed at the time to really pay attention, but he was sure there were bodies drifting around in the water. What was the deal with them?

“Oi, Furuichi,” Oga nudged.

“What?”

“Who were those people in the pool?”

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Furuichi drawled. “The pool was packed with people, remember?”

“The ones who got shocked by Beel, just before we left.”

“Oh. That.” Furuichi suddenly looked uncomfortable. He shifted his gaze away. “Never mind about them. It’s done and over with.”

How suspicious. Furuichi was clearly hiding something. A good friend would see that Furuichi didn’t want to talk about it and would let it go. Oga wasn’t a good friend.

“Spill.”

“No, just never mind! It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me. I want to know the reason I got shocked at the pool.”

“They were just some delinquents who were after me. Nothing special.”

Nothing special Oga’s left foot. If they were really nothing special, Furuichi would be ranting about how they almost killed him and it was all Oga’s fault for dragging him to the pool in the first place. No, there was definitely something more to this.

“I met some Red Tails girls at the pool,” Furuichi mentioned with forced casualness. “Nene and Tanimura. Remember them? They looked so good in their swimsuits.”

“I’m sure they loved being bothered by you,” Oga droned.

“I wasn’t bothering them! It was Takashima who… never mind.”

“Takashima?”

“How many times do I have to say it? Never mind!”

“I thought you said they were just some delinquents. You know the guy?”

“Not really.” Furuichi gave a deep sigh. “He’s just a jerk from middle school. No biggie.”

“Middle school? How come I don’t remember him?” Oga scratched his head. 

“Because you weren’t there when he…” Furuichi hesitated and looked away again. “Takashima was just a nuisance more than anything. I wouldn’t expect you to remember a bug like him.”

That must have been true. Oga didn’t like wasting brain cells on remembering small fry, so this ‘Takashima’ character couldn’t have been a threat. At least not to Oga. Furuichi on the other hand… While Oga believed Furuichi to be pretty damn strong, he wasn’t a fighter. He’d be able to tolerate it, but Furuichi wouldn’t be able to beat Takashima in a fight. It irritated Oga that some punk had been picking on his boy, but more than that, it thoroughly pissed him off that this had been happening without him knowing. A man didn’t leave his friends to struggle alone.

“How many times?” Oga growled.

“How many times what?”

“How many times did Takashima beat you?” Oga demanded. Furuichi blushed a dark red. He crossed his arms defensively and glared at Oga straight on.

“None of your business,” he snapped. “Look, I know I’m super weak and all, but even someone like me can handle a punk like Takashima. I’m not _that_ useless!”

“Idiot Furuichi!” Oga gnashed back. “That’s not the point!”

“Then what _is_ the point?!?”

“You’re not a fighter!” Oga’s raised voice woke up Beel who whined from having his nap interrupted. Then he spotted the angry faces on his foster father and Furuichi and immediately perked up, cooing in delight at the hostility in the air. 

“You’re not a fighter!” Oga exclaimed again. “All the fighting should be left to me, and me alone!”

“Oh, I’m _so_ sorry!” Furuichi mock apologized. “I should have realized the great Oga is the only one capable of sticking it to an antagonist. Excuse me for trying to stand up for myself, but I don’t need you to save me every single time something happens!”

“You’re the one who keeps depending on me all the time!” Oga pointed out harshly. Furuichi flinched at the words. 

“I know that,” Furuichi said in a low voice. “I know that better than anyone. I didn’t intend to be such a burden to you, but if that’s the case then maybe you should just go.”

Oga was shocked to see that his friend meant it. He didn’t know how they had ended up arguing. He only wanted to help Furuichi, but now he was shunning Oga out of the house. Without another word, Oga scooped up Beel and left. 

Beel gave a confused gurgle on the way back. Fighting made the baby happy, but only if his foster father was happy at the end of a fight. Right now, Beel was sensing hurt and discontent from Oga. Why had his dad and Furuichi been fighting in the first place? They always fought a lot, but things never ended like this. As much as a weirdo Furuichi was, Beel could recognize he was an important person to Oga so this probably wasn’t the end of it. His father and Furuichi would make up again soon. Beel was sure of it. 

 

~~Beelzebub~~

 

Beel wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. It had been three days since the argument and his father still hadn’t made up with Furuichi. When Beel asked about it, Oga assured him that everything was fine and his fight with Furuichi didn’t matter anyway. Beel was unconvinced. If everything was fine, then why had his father spent the last three days sulking in his room? It was depressing, not to mention boring. Fortunately for Beel, he wasn’t the only one annoyed with Oga’s behaviour.

“Just how long do you plan on hiding away in your room?!?” Misaki demanded hotly. “Stop being stubborn and go apologize already!”

“I’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Oga retorted.

“That’s not the impression I got from Takachin.”

“You talked to him?!?”

“Well, you weren’t explaining why you were throwing a huge pity party,” Misaki snapped. “So I asked Takachin what was going on and he said you two had a big fight.”

“It’s none of your business,” Oga grumbled.

“It is when your piss poor attitude starts bringing down the rest of the house! Now stop being a wet blanket and hurry up and apologize!” Misaki snatched up her brother and proceeded to toss him out of the house. “You’re not allowed back in until you two kiss and make up! Isn’t he an important friend?”

The door slammed in Oga’s face. He cursed and kicked at the ground. What was there to apologize for? Furuichi was the one who had been stupid about the whole thing. If he didn’t want to be involved with Oga anymore, then Oga wasn’t going to force him. Seeing as he had nowhere else to go at the moment, Oga decided to head down to the riverside. A little fresh air might do him well after all.

It was hot outside but the grass was soft and comfortable to lay on. Who cares if Furuichi never spoke to him again? A gentle breeze rippled the water which made gentle lapping sounds. It lulled Oga towards sleep, but kept an ear out for Beel. It would be easier if Furuichi was here to keep an extra watch out and make sure Beel didn’t wander over fifteen meters away. He wasn’t here though. It was just Oga laying with his eyes closed, and Beel ripping up grass beside him, and Furuichi silently sitting down on his… other… side…

…

Oga kept his eyes shut. Furuichi had just come out of nowhere and was sitting next to him. Was he still mad? Oga didn’t know what to do. Luckily, he didn’t have to do anything. Furuichi started talking and Oga just listened.

“I was on a date,” Furuichi began. “In middle school. Takashima didn’t like how friendly I acted with girls. He followed us and waited until we were at the park to come out and harass us. I wanted to protect my date but… He didn’t stop after beating me though. My date already looked terrified, and then Takashima… He forced me to kneel in front of him.”

“Furuichi…”

“It was humiliating,” Furuichi gave a pained laugh. “I swore never to let anything like that happen again, but, well, you know how it is…”

“Furuichi.”

“I really am weak, but I still show off in front of the ladies. Takashima was right. I am a fool. I’m sorry for being such a burden to you, Oga.”

“Furuichi!” Oga smacked his friend upside the head. “Idiot!”

“Ouch!” Furuichi placed both hands behind his head indignantly. “What was that for?!?”

“I just told you,” Oga scoffed. “For being an idiot.”

“How am I an idiot?!? Can’t you be more considerate when someone’s pouring their heart out to you?!?”

“Listen up Beel,” Oga redirected. “Only an idiot believes things they’re told from idiots like Takashima.”

“Hey!”

“But more importantly…” Both Beel and Furuichi gazed at Oga intently. “A real man never leaves his friend to deal with idiots alone. You got that?”

“Dah!” Beel saluted faithfully.

“Wait a second.” Furuichi put up a hand. “Is that what you meant when you said to leave the fighting to you? You don’t think I’m a burden?”

“Idiot Furuichi.” Oga stood up. “You’re the only one who said you were a burden.”

Furuichi got to his feet, smiling widely. Although he appreciated what Oga had said, there was no need to continue the conversation. They knew where they stood with each other. Furuichi never should have questioned Oga’s intent in the first place. With the argument finally behind them, they wandered off to enjoy the rest of the day. Just not at the pool.


	7. Scrapped Drabble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad about not updating in so long so here's part of a piece I scrapped. I'm having serious plot issues right now ugh...

The gentle snores of Baby Beel did nothing to soothe Oga back to sleep. Neither did the ticking of his clock, which now read 2:46 am, or the quiet creaking of the house. He stared up at the ceiling with glassy eyes. His body was tired, but his mind was like the school cafeteria at lunch time; filled with loud voices and swears all pushing and shoving together in a chaotic mass making it near impossible to make sense of anything.

_Are you really the Royal Family’s Contractor?_

Oga turned to his side, nudging Beel as he did so. The baby gurgled slightly but did not wake. His own mind, however, churned violently with the movement.

_I was lucky to be in-between his toes!!_

_What the hell is Oga doing?!?_

_Changed man! Boston crab!!!_

_It didn’t work!_

_What a total disappointment._

“Aaargghhh!!” Oga sat upright, ruffling his hair. Going to the demon world had been nothing but a disaster. It was hard to imagine that at some point, he was actually starting to feel comfortable about the whole demon thing. That untimely adventure was the rudest wakeup call ever.

It was more than the utter defeat that was bugging him. He had experienced that before and managed to bounce back. Something was different this time, but he couldn’t figure out what. Every time he tried digging around in his mind for the source of the irritant, all he got was a mental image of Furuichi’s face.

Yes, Furuichi was irritating, but he had never caused Oga to feel so out of sorts. It wasn’t that his friend had been in an extremely dangerous situation; that was nothing new. Oga always managed to keep those he was protecting safe. Maybe not in one piece, but safe. 

_What a total disappointment._

Except, not this time the ponytail demon kept reminding him. (Oga couldn’t recall his name. Ass-run, or something…) If ponytail demon hadn’t been there, Lamia would have been crushed by giant Beel. Hell, Furuichi had almost been crushed a moment earlier. 

_What a total disappointment._

_Disappointment._

_Useless._

“Shut up!” Oga snapped. There was only one thing for it; he had to fill his mind something else to push all these other thoughts away. At 3:00 am, Oga started playing video games. Four hours later, Hilda found him sleeping on the floor when she came to feed her master his breakfast.

~~Beelzebub~~

 

Over the next few days leading up to September first, Oga got very little sleep. Furuichi, who had correctly assumed his friend would not be ready for school, was the only reason Oga made it to class on time. Saint Ishiyama Academy. The name tugged at something in Oga’s gut. He could vaguely remember Furuichi mentioning it back in middle school. Was that the name of the school he had wanted to go to at some point? Well, whatever. Furuichi had ended up at Ishiyama like Oga, so there was no reason to be concerned about it.

Although they had transferred into a well-to-do school, the classroom itself retained an atmosphere of Ishiyama, as only a classroom filled with delinquents could. People were mixing words and bad attitudes until they were on the brink of a fight. It was all so old hat and Oga was so tired that he opted to fall asleep. The next thing he knew, a teacher had woken him up, which resulted in Beel waking up cranky, and crying, and electrical shocks everywhere. 

Needless to say, Oga’s life at a new school had started on a disappointing note. He felt stuck in an endless loop of same-old, same-old. 

_What a total disappointment._

Except, maybe he wasn’t the same? Maybe he was worse? Or feeling off at least, like with a cold. Ever since that damn trip to the demon world…

He admitted as much to Furuichi on their way home from school but they somehow ended up discussing soap operas instead. Still, slipping into a casual conversation with his friend was relaxing to the point that suddenly being surrounded by a group of bald thugs wasn’t enough to make him lift an eyebrow. Relaxation was no excuse for that shitty burying kick he executed though. Damn, he really was in a slump. He couldn’t fight today, but these baldies didn’t seem to be in the mood to back off anytime soon… and now there were hostages?

“Hey,” Oga pointed to the boy and girl being held by a baldy.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me…” Furuichi muttered because how should he know where these two random St. Ishiyama students had come from and stop diverting attention this way I can’t do anything in this situation! 

What a pain. 

“Let those two go. Now.” Came a commanding voice. The sharp sound of Kunieda’s umbrella filled the air as the thugs who were holding the hostages went flying. 

“Queen!” Furuichi exclaimed in relief. With Kunieda here it was short work to take care of the rest of the baldies. Normally, Oga enjoyed a good fight but he really wasn’t feeling good today. No more surprises. He just needed some time to relax and figure this out.

“Oga! Could you please make me your underling?”

... 

“Come again?”

Who was this punk? He had just been a hostage not two minutes ago. He must be some rich kid weirdo. Oga didn’t have time for this.

“I’m done for today,” Oga announced. He ignored the kid’s nervous spluttering and left for home. Hopefully, he would feel better tomorrow.

~~Beelzebub~~

 

Oga wasn’t stupid. For all that he thought with his fists instead of his brain, Furuichi knew Oga was a lot more aware of things than what he led on. Sure, his reasoning could be faulty, and impulsive and childish and… okay, maybe Oga _was_ just a little bit stupid. The point was, however, that when Oga came up with a hair-brained scheme, Furuichi trusted him enough to follow through with whatever nonsense his best friend had come up with. Usually.

“Are you really gonna give up on Beel again?” Furuichi asked. _Or is this just an excuse to fight the Six Knights?_

“Silence my naïve and pitiful underling!”

“Why exactly am I pit –?”

“Haven’t you ever heard the saying? When opportunity knocks, you grab him in a headlock and beat all the good stuffing out of him!”

“That’s not how the saying goes, but I guess I see your point…”

Even though class wouldn’t be starting again for some time, Furuichi noted a suspicious lack of delinquents in the room. Surely, if everyone could muster up the energy to attend the first day of classes then the second day would be no problem. 

“I wonder where Toujou and the MK5 are...” Furuichi mused. 

“Toujou’s got back-to-back part-time jobs lined up,” Aizawa explained in passing. “And don’t talk about him so casually.”   
As Toujou’s right-hand man, Aizawa exuded a powerful aura that was all the convincing Furuichi needed to stay as far away from him as possible. His sunglasses glinted when he made a sudden stop on his way to his desk. Furuichi flinched, but Aizawa didn’t turn around. Instead, he just said, “I’m not too sure about MK5 but… There’ve been some weird rumors. You guys better be careful.”

“Weird rumors?” Furuichi turned back to Oga. “My guess would be that Six Knights group.” _So there really are some strong people here._

“Yeah, I’ve heard about them too,” Nene added. Furuichi was surprised she was talking to him, but not at all displeased. “Word is they’re trying to chase out everyone from Ishiyama.”

“Oh! Are they really that strong?” asked Oga. He was certainly interested in meeting the Six Knights, but not much else. Furuichi could see his friend lose focus when the conversation turned into an argument about Ishiyama’s honour. In a way, it was good that Oga was so self-centred. He didn’t care to join fights unless they affected him personally, so Furuichi didn’t have to worry about his friend swinging his fists at every little thing that moved. 

“That’s enough!” Kunieda sharply ordered. The argument between Nene and Kanzaki died instantly. Despite no longer being the leader of the Red Tails, Kunieda maintained an air of authority that demanded respect. Respect, however, did not stop Furuichi from feeling insanely jealous when the Queen asked Oga to go out with her. 

Of course the rest of the class interpreted it as a confession. It was like being in middle school again from the way they jeered and teased. Who cares if they were actually being called to the teacher’s office? Who cares if they were probably in trouble because of that fight with the baldies? Furuichi hated that he was being left behind in a classroom that was more than a little hostile towards him.

Fine. If Oga got to leave the classroom and enjoy the presence of the Queen, then Furuichi would leave and find some enjoyment for himself.

The vending machines were easy to find –Furuichi had made a note of it the day before...


	8. Author's Note

So about this fic...

When I started writing this, I didn't have a clear idea of where I wanted to go with it. As a result, I got completely stuck on what to write next. However! I hate leaving things unfinished so I'm going to try and figure out an ending for this. 

Right now I am planning out all my plot points. Instead of episodic chapters, it's going to be a continuous story line. I'll leave all my previous writings here, but from now on I'm going to be writing the same concept in a different tone. (Updates will still probably be super slow. I don't have a lot of time to write.)

And lastly, thank you to all of my readers! Your support will always mean the world to me.


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